Weigh-In & Date Night!

Today was our 5th weekly weigh-in.  First, I would like to say we have done so much better staying on track this time. Since we've been married we have "tried" a few times to lose weight and always seem to make it somewhere between 10-14 days before we crumble. I am super proud of how committed we both have been. It makes a world of difference to both be on the same page working for the same goal. Now if I could just lose as fast as my husband I would be even happier :) 

So, the weigh-in....2.6 pounds lost. That brings my total to 15 pounds or 20% of my "lose my puppy" goal.  Way to go, me!

I know I have been a bit in the dumps the last week or so about my knee situation. I am not sure when it will be ready for some serious walking again. I will definitely be holding out a little longer on my dreams of starting to run. Tomorrow I am planning to try the biking in the neighborhood for my workout.

Despite not working out like I want I have kept my calories in check. I feel really good about my eating. My calorie range is 1300-1500 - it has not been too much of a struggle. We eat lots of good healthy foods and work in enough "goodies" that we don't feel punished. Although, I might be glad when June is over - we have so many birthdays and events in May & June it has taken most of my extra energy to just navigate all the goodies.

I have made a discovery that seems to help me - I have been entering food into MyFitnessPal in advance. By doing so, I know about how many calories I have for the rest of the day. If I know a that piece of piggy cake is going to cost me 445 calories (see Sunday's post) I make better choices earlier in the day (fruit smoothie for breakfast - no snacks). Also, having a plan of what is a reasonable meal helps control the impulse eating. If I just wait until I eat it to record it I am concerned I won't make as rational of choices.  I'll be honest, I have not been to a party yet where I stuck completely to my plan, but I have stayed pretty close. I knew I didn't have much wiggle room and it certainly curbed the damage I could have done.

To celebrate a good weigh-in, I planned a date night for my husband and me. I didn't tell him anything about what we were doing other than to tell him to reserve extra calories for dinner...pretty romantic, right? We drove to a town about 20 minutes away. I told him we were going 4 places...he was so confused. He is so funny cause he usually likes to be in control and not knowing the plan was a bit disconcerting for him...and super fun for me.

First up...Go Karts :)  I asked for the fastest car, but it turns out speed is wasted on bad drivers. I was bringing up the rear the whole time...well, until my husband practically stopped and waited for me to catch up. I was trying to go as fast as possible with out crashing at every turn. There was another kid on the course and I think he was out to get me. Please keep in mind the following picture is taken from my "speeding" go kart. I wasn't afraid of dropping my camera but I was worried about careening out of control while taking pictures.

After go karts we tried the bumper cars. We were the only two doing it so a couple employees jumped in cars and joined us. It was so much fun! Check out that smile.  I wish he had had a camera too so I could see my face...I bet I was a sight!

After we played for awhile we headed off to location 2 & 3.  Location 2 was a restaurant we've been to a couple of times. I love, love their Gyro Salad. My husband thinks the place is okay, so I got a salad to go and we headed to location 3 - one of his favorite pizza places. I had called in an order for his favorite (sausage jalapeno).  I ordered a small pizza - gasp!  Earlier in the day I had worked my geometry skills and figured out the calories for a small pizza based on a slice of the large pizza.  Yes, I was pretty impressed with myself :)  Once we had gathered our food we drove to a park where I whipped out the picnic stuff from the trunk. My husband was very surprised and happy.

I took a picture of my salad, but turns out it is NOT photogenic. It was delicious and the ambiance of the park was perfect. We had a shady spot on top of a hill overlooking the lake. There was a light breeze. Seriously perfect.  We both had food we loved. Guilt free because we worked it into our daily calorie allowance. After we ate we fed the ducks and geese by the lake. I even remembered the bread. Loved this baby goose getting its grown up feathers. I will say for a baby it was a bit of a bully...bad goose.

The obligatory selfie and our date was complete....

It was the perfect evening and exactly what we needed. We have both been so caught up in the calorie counting and exercising (or not exercising in my case) it was nice to just relax and enjoy each other The whole reason we are doing this thing is to maximize our health so we can enjoy our life together even longer.